Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has expressed excitement after finding out through a genealogy test about her Nigerian heritage.
The Duchess said it’s been “humbling” to find out that she is partly a Nigerian as she met with women in in Abuja.
Meghan, on her second day in Nigeria, where she is visiting for the first time with Prince Harry to promote mental health for wounded soldiers and young girls, acknowledged Nigeria as her country.
She said, “It’s been eye-opening to be able to know more about my heritage.”
“Never in a million years would I understand it as much as I do now. And what has been echoed so much in the past day is, ’Oh, we are not so surprised when we found out you are Nigerian,” she said an the event on women in leadership which had Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Mo Abudu, amongst several other dignitaries.
“It is a compliment to you because what they define as a Nigerian woman is brave, resilient, courageous, beautiful,” Meghan told the audience.
Her first reaction after finding out was to tell her mother, she said at the event in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja. “Being African American, part of it is really not knowing so much about your lineage and background … and it was exciting for both of us,” she said.
Mo Abudu, the anchor and chief executive of EbonyLife media group, then asked the audience to suggest a Nigerian name for Meghan.
“Ifeoma,” someone shouted from the excited crowd, a name from Nigeria’s Igbo tribe which means ‘a treasured thing.’ “Omowale” another suggested, from the Yoruba tribe, which means ‘the child has come home.